Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/189

 RAILROAD 177 corporations created by law, and therefore sub- ject to the law-making power whenever it may choose to intervene. Still another theory has been set up and received public attention, namely, that the authority to regulate com- merce between the states, given to congress by the constitution of the 'United States, is broad enough to cover and does cover the right to regulate and control the railroads in all matters pertaining to their operation, and par- ticularly in fixing the rates at which freights and passengers shall be carried, notwithstand- ing the fact that railroads for commercial pur- poses were at the time of the formation of the constitution entirely unknown and unthought of. What will be the future solution of this question, now receiving the attention of many writers and thinkers in all parts of the world, cannot be predicted. In France and other countries, where a system of monopolies was deliberately established by the government, a system of checks has been or can be established in the interest of the public. In England the purchase of the railways by the state has been urged by an influential party, on the ground that the state is the only power which can properly control an interest so great and which so vitally affects the welfare of the entire na- tion ; and in Belgium such purchase is gradu- ally being made by the government. From the peculiar nature of our institutions, as well as from the complexity and extent of our rail- road system, the regulation, of railroads by government is much more difficult, and there- fore probably much more remote, than it is in Europe. On the other hand, the difficulty of consolidation and combination, owing to the extent of the country and the diversity of interests, is also greater, while the danger of monopolies is less ; and hence the ques- tion will probably receive a solution in Amer- ica founded upon competition. Construction and Rolling Stock. Before deciding upon the construction of a railroad along a given route, a careful calculation of the amount of transporting business already done on the route should be made, with the view of ascer- taining whether it is sufficient to justify the proposed railroad ; though estimates of this kind have in general been found to afford a very uncertain indication of the amount of business which the railroad itself when con- structed would obtain. A more enlarged esti- mate should be made of She extent of country tributary to the proposed railroad, together with its mineral and agricultural resources, developed and undeveloped, its wealth and population, and also the influence of the new route of transportation upon those already established, as well as upon the habits and pro- ductions of the people who are expected to use it. The first question to be considered is. Will any kind of railroad pay when built ? the sec- ond is, What kind of a railroad, all things con- sidered, should be built? and the third is, Where and how can the money be got to pay for it? In one region a double track steel railway, with low grades, slight curvature, iron bridges, brick or stone station houses, and the largest and best rolling stock, all costing $100,- 000 more or less per mile, may be necessary to accommodate the business ; in another case, a single track, with heavier grades and sharper curvature, wooden bridges, and cheaper appur- tenances of every kind, may be sufficient ; and in still another case lighter rails, narrower gauge, and still lighter rolling stock and ma- chinery, may prove to be more than is required. No rule can be given for telling beforehand just what kind of a railroad should be built, or, when built, will prove to be the one best suited to the situation. Such questions are necessarily indeterminate. It is however a safe principle, economically considered, that no more expensive railroad should be built over any route than can be paid for out of the money which the people to be benefited by it will subscribe to the company's stock or lend upon the pledge of its mortgage bonds. This rule has not generally been kept in view in the United States and other new countries, and the consequence is that there has been a great over production of railroads at various periods, and particularly between 1863 and 18V3. To such an extent has this over production gone that the financial panic of October, 1873, has been attributed by some writers exclusively to this cause. Preparatory to the construction of a railroad, surveys are made along the sev- eral routes the road may follow, and plans are constructed representing the exact dis- tances and grades or the amount of deviation from a level at all the points. From these plans the amount of excavation and embank- ment, of tunnelling, bridging, &c., necessary to bring the road within the required de- gree of straightness and level, are calculated. Thus the estimates are obtained, by compari- son of which, including also the ascertained amount to be paid for right of way, the con- struction of the road is determined. The im- portance of the road and the special purpose for which it is designed are to be duly con- sidered in deciding upon saving of distance and reduction of grades by heavier expenditures. Roads upon which numerous trains are to pass daily, each one of which will incur a certain additional expense for every additional mile, and each mile will involve a certain annual ex- pense for keeping in repair, may economically be shortened by increased outlays that would be entirely inadmissible in securing a similar reduction of distance for less travelled routes. So upon roads that are to be run at high rates of speed short curves must be avoided at any expense. It has happened, from the experience gained in the working of railroads; that some of the earlier lines have been economically re- constructed by a partial abandonment of the old routes under more judicious surveys, or from the increase in the business justifying the adoption of a more perfect line. As already